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Ciaran
listened, trying to hear Alastair's voice on the other side of the
phone. It had to be a phone conversation. It was pointless, the
noise of the night drowned out any attempt. The one side was enough
to get the gist of it.

“
He came tae
see her today but A took care ov him.”

Ciaran almost
snorted out loud but he caught himself in time. Quinn hadn't taken
care of anything. Ciaran had seen the entire fight, and if Jack had
stayed on Quinn's back a moment longer, they would have been
burying him next week.

“
She told
Tommy tae go. Ethan is nae longer in the runnin’. Ciaran isnnae
worth the air he breathes. Trust me, Alastair, A will have
her.”

Ciaran could
hardly believe what he was hearing. He'd known all along that Quinn
couldn’t be trusted. They all had, apart from Cora. Now he had the
evidence, well, he didn’t, but he’d heard him finally admit
it.

“
Once she is
married tae me, Scotland will huv the power. A will make sure ov
it. She cannae do a thing about it once the deed is done. Yes, A
will keep yer updated... ov course...donnae call me A will call
you...aye...bye.”

Ciaran edged
away under the blanket of darkness as Quinn pushed the phone into
his pocket and started walking along the main road, his gait like
he didn’t have a care in the world.

Ciaran
remained crouched, hiding near the trees until he couldn’t hear the
sound of footsteps. Releasing his breath, he made his way onto the
main road and to the B&B, the revelation making him forget
about the stock room and his promise.

32

WORDS OF
ADVICE

Cora jumped as
something crashed to the floor behind her. She turned to see what
had once been a witch ornament, now lay scattered on the floor in
tiny pieces. Ciaran cursed and started picking up the
pieces.

That was the
fourth thing he'd broken this morning. Cora observed him. Something
in Ciaran’s temperament made her nervous. He didn’t seem like his
usual self. She moved towards him and bent down helping pick up the
pieces. “Ciaran, are you okay?”

He flinched
but continued picking up the pieces. “I'm fine.”

It didn’t take
a genius to see that something was wrong, that flinch, the one he’d
badly concealed, told her this.

“
Hou are yer,
Cora?”

She turned
around and smiled at Quinn as he walked into the shop. She wished
Quinn would greet Ciaran; he was after all, kneeling right next to
her.

“
I'm fine. I
will be just a minute I'm helping Ciaran pick up this smashed
ornament.”

She looked
back at Ciaran and saw that his skin had turned whiter than usual.
His irises, a cool topaz, popped out against the whites of his eyes
as he glared angrily at Quinn. She knew that Ciaran hated Quinn,
but even this was a new reaction.

“
Ciaran, are
you feeling okay? You're not ill or anything?”

“
Wouldnae be
wantin' yer tae drop out of the challenge,” Quinn
grinned.

“
I wouldn’t
give you what you want,” Ciaran muttered.

Cora looked at
Ciaran in shock. She knew he had a problem with Quinn but he'd
never voiced it before. Ciaran had always remained silent, but the
heated anger in each of his words made her look at him in surprise.
“Ciaran, take yourself off home. You’re obviously not well, I can
see that.”

“
No, Cora, if
it’s all the same to you, I'd rather stay,” Ciaran smiled at her,
and then he walked to the little tea room with the pieces of the
broken ornament.

She sighed and
smiled at Quinn. The smile slid from her face when she really
looked at him. “Quinn, what have you done to your face?” She stood
on her tiptoes surveying his face.

His cheek had
ballooned like there was a golf ball lodged underneath his skin.
She could see bruising there, bruising from a fight.

“
Oh, it was
nothing. A went tae a boxin' class last noot and got
battered.”

“
My God, they
actually let you fight without experience?”

“
Aye,” he
laughed. “But yer should see the other guy.”

Ciaran
suddenly started coughing behind her. She turned and looked at him
as his face turned a bright shade of red.

“
Are you okay,
you need to get some water?”

“
Aye, I think
I will do that.”

She watched
Ciaran walk into the little room.

“
Whit's up wi'
him?” Quinn asked.

“
I haven't got
a clue. He's been off all day.”

“
Yer fancy
doin' somthin' tonight?” Quinn asked.

It was a nice
thought, but she felt so tired she couldn’t muster up the
enthusiasm. She hadn’t slept well last night because the house held
too many memories. She realised it was going to take a while for
her to adjust, but she’d appreciated that Ayden had remained seated
downstairs with her until she felt tired enough to venture up to
bed.“If you don't mind, I just want to stay in tonight.”

“
Aye, that's
fine. But yer know where A am if yer want me.”

His hand
lifted and his finger brushed her lips. His eyes followed the trail
of his fingers as they neared her lips. The cough interrupted them
making her jump back like she’d been scolded for doing something
wrong. Tabitha sent daggers her way as she walked past
them.

“
Right, I will
speak to you tomorrow,” she said nodding at Quinn.

Quinn smiled,
and with one last longing look, he walked out of the
shop.

“
Cora-”

“
Tab, I know
what you're going to say, but please don't.” She heard Tabitha sigh
as she moved around the shop completing her tasks.

“
Tabitha, may
I leave earlier today?” Ciaran asked.

Cora turned
and looked at Ciaran. It wasn't like he was employed by Tabitha. He
could come and leave as he wished.

“
Sure Ciaran,
are you feeling okay?”

“
No. I'm not,
I’ve decided it’s best that I go home.”

Cora walked
over to Ciaran and felt his face. He didn’t rear back from her
touch, but she’d expected him to for some reason. He seemed
distant. “You're burning up,” she noted.

Ciaran seemed
to struggle for something to say.

“
Ciaran,
what’s wrong?”

“
I’m not sure
you want to hear it.”

“
Yes, I do,
what is it?” she insisted.

“
Cora, I
respect you, I do, and I really respect everyone in your coven.
Although I had a frosty reception at the beginning, working in this
shop has allowed me to come to get to know each and every one of
you. And I won't lie, working here was part of my game
plan.”

She gasped in
shock. Jack had been right.

“
Please, don't
think bad of me. After the first week I couldn't bring myself to do
anything other than be here for you, as a friend. So, as a friend I
want to tell you that I see things and I hear things. Please be
careful with Quinn because I don't trust him-”

“
I don't want
to hear this. Everyone has already told me this.”

“
Cora, please
just listen. You can't trust him, I know from firsthand experience.
You and Jack are meant to be together, and I've known that since
day one. I see you with Jack, and I see how lucky you both are to
have found your soul mate so early in life. Please don't ruin it,
don't lose what you have.”

Cora looked at
him in shock. Ciaran was really going to town today rather than
standing back quietly. Tabitha was standing at the till, silently
listening to Ciaran. Tabitha obviously agreed with
Ciaran.

“
Ciaran,
please go home and get better.”

“
You think
about what I've said,” he warned.

“
I will, I
promise.”

She watched as
Ciaran walked out of the shop and then turned to Tabitha before
sighing. “What the hell was all that about?” she asked
Tabitha.

“
I believe
that was someone speaking perfect sense. You should listen to him.”
Tabitha walked into the little room leaving her standing in the
middle of the shop feeling very put out of place. Why did she feel
like she didn’t belong in her coven anymore?

33

A NEW
PLAN

Jack was
slouched on the chair at the table in the kitchen. He didn’t have
much to do to occupy his time. Even if he did, he wouldn’t be able
to concentrate for any length of time. Jeremy Kyle no longer had
the desired effect it used to. He was bored. He longed for
something to do. That’s why he found himself watching Eli add a
small, shiny metal strip to one of his many gadgets.

Eli had sold
CID: The Content Identification Device, and now the orders were
coming in so Jack had been helping since he had lots of spare time
and no girlfriend to fill the spare hours.

Jack held back
the sigh. He’d been surprised that he hadn’t heard anything about
the fight yesterday. He'd expected something, had wanted something
to come of it. At least if Cora had found out about it she’d have
shouted at him. That small piece of conversation, or shouting,
would have been better than none at all.

A loud knock
sounded on the front door. Maybe he had spoken too soon. Standing,
he looked at Eli before opening it.

“
Remain calm,
explain things to her. Take deep breaths.”

Jack did as he
was told and took deep breath. He opened it and came face to face
with Ciaran. “Oh, hello,” he said, surprised to see the man at his
door.

“
Hi, sorry to
disturb you, but I was just wandering if I could have a moment of
your time?”

“
Yes, of
course, come in. Do you want something to eat or drink?”

He stepped
aside allowing Ciaran to enter the room.

“
I wouldn't
mind something cold to drink if you have it?”

“
Sure, take a
seat and I'll just get it for you.”

“
Grand.”

He watched
with a great deal of confusion as Ciaran made himself comfortable
on the sofa.

Jack walked
into the kitchen and looked at Eli who had his face extremely close
to a small part that had some sort of cog wheel attached to the
middle of it. He was chewing his lips, focusing eyes that swirled
with green and blue. Jack cleared his throat otherwise he may have
been standing here a while.

“
What?” Eli
asked impatiently.

“
It's Ciaran
and he wants to talk.”

“
Did he say
what about?”

“
Not
yet.”

“
Right, well
let me know what he wants.”

Jack took a
can out of the fridge and walked back into the room.

“
I think Eli
could hear this as well.”

Jack stopped
short and looked at Ciaran. This set off something in his gut,
instinct telling him that something was wrong. “Eli, come in here
please.” He passed the can to Ciaran and then waited until Eli
entered the room before he sat.

“
Hi Ciaran,
what's this about?” Eli asked.

Ciaran took a
long drag of the cool liquid and then looked at them. “Cora moved
back into her house yesterday,” he stated.

“
Yeah, I
know.”

“
Well, I was
leaving the house later than planned when I heard a
voice.”

Jack sat back
and looked at Eli who looked at him. They didn't have a clue where
this conversation was going, but Jack had to admit that he was
already interested. Ciaran rarely spoke up like this, so whatever
had brought Ciaran to him, it was worth listening to his
opinion.

“
So I hears
this voice and I step closer to listen, like you do. The voice was
Quinn's.”

Jack sat up.
“Who was Quinn talking to?” he asked.

“
Quinn was on
the phone talking to Alastair. He was telling him he had it all
planned and everything was working. He said how once he was married
to Cora he would gain the power for Scotland-”

“
I bloody knew
it!” Jack exploded, jumping to his feet.

“
You did
that,” Ciaran said with a smile. “Quinn also told Alastair that he
sorted you out yesterday and that the competition was
nonexistent.”

Jack laughed
and sat back down. “Yeah, he really sorted me out.”

“
Well, I know
that. If you’d stayed on his back a second longer we wouldn't have
a problem here now.”

“
I just knew
he would be... what?” Jack broke off, startled.

“
You heard
me,” Ciaran smiled and took another swig of cold liquid.

“
Hang on, did
you see the fight?”

“
Yeah, every
second of it.”

“
But, where
were you?”

“
In the
house.”